Doug at 17
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My earliest recollections are singing with my two older brothers in the back seat of the car. My father had a good singing voice and an ear for harmony which he passed on by example rather than any formal teaching. He also played guitar and when I was nine I started plucking out two or three simple songs. My oldest brother, Carl, was also interested in guitar and began taking lessons. When the Beatles appeared we were instant star-struck musical wannabes with an assured future of playing guitars and running away from mobs of screaming girls.My other brother, Craige, began playing a snare drum and cymbal. Word spread quickly (which doesn’t take long in a town of 500) that the three of us were a combo and we were invited to perform at a P.T.A. meeting. Since we did not have a name, we were dubbed, The Bottorff Beat Band, which we all thought was about as lame a name as one could possibly create. After all, there were cool names like Rolling Stones, Kinks, Byrds and Animals.
Other kids in the town also played various instruments and we often had get-togethers with all of us, a genuine garage band, providing the music. I took my first solo job singing in a nightclub just out of high school and over the next several years played in a variety of clubs—some nice and some forgettable. I attempted to work in several bands but found singing and playing solo to be the easiest.
I was in my mid-teens when I discovered Unity and the songs I would write began reflecting a spiritual theme. As I entered the ministry some of my colleagues enjoyed my music and I was invited to do a CD, One World, for Unity. A little over a year later I did a second, Vision of Hope. A church audience, I found, is much more attentive than a club audience that likes to talk with music in the background. Still, I have struggled with blending my ministerial mindset with my musical persona, though I’ve never quite figured out why.
The music I have shared, especially the recorded version, has had unexpected impacts. Surgeons have used my music in the operating room. Others have told me they listen to it every day. One man even told me how one song helped his dying girlfriend find peace in making her transition. Music touches all of us in special ways and I’ve always felt blessed to be able to share mine in ways that touches others in meaningful ways.
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